Category Archive

Dean Foods Co. is considering the sale of its Morningstar unit that produces milk products for retailers and restaurants. Dean hasn’t identified a buyer yet for the segment, which makes and sells ice cream mixes, coffee creamers and whipped toppings, Jamaison Schuler, a spokesman for the Dallas-based company, said in an e-mail today. Dean has struggled recently to boost profits … Read More

Beef Products, Inc. (BPI), a South Dakota-based meat processor has sued ABC News for defamation for news reports on a meat product that critics have dubbed “pink slime” and which the meat industry calls “lean, finely textured beef.” The $1.2 billion defamation lawsuit from Beef Products accuses the network of disseminating 200 “false and misleading and defamatory statements” about its … Read More

Schreiber Foods has announced the closure of their Ravenna, Neb. plant, effective February 2013. Close to 80 employees will lose their jobs, some as early as October. “It’s going to hurt the community. The people who came here maybe they stopped and shopped here,” said Ravenna Mayor Peg Dethlefs. “The ones that are living here are they going to find … Read More

California dairies are feeling the pressure as drought and prices collide. The explosion in feed costs, now made worse by the Midwestern drought that has ravaged corn and soybean crops, has taken a huge toll on the state’s dairy farms, many of which were already in poor financial health as a result of the economic downturn that pummeled milk prices … Read More

Schneider’s Dairy has become the first PA Preferred dairy. The PA Preferred program is spearheaded by the state Department of Agriculture as a means of encouraging consumers to buy locally and support Pennsylvania farmers. “We have always, by choice, worked solely with Pennsylvania farmers,” said William Schneider, the company’s president. “So we approached the Department of Agriculture about getting on … Read More

Analysts are predicting that milk and cheese prices at the grocery store will spike due to the nation’s drought, and that meat prices will follow the same trend. Price hikes in basic food staples are causing huge concern to milk producers and others who rely on dairy to sustain an important part of the national farming economy. The rises foreshadow … Read More

The new Core Power line of products will be delivered initially in select markets via Coca-Cola Refreshments’ world class distribution system. Core Power is produced and marketed by Fair Oaks Farms Brands, which is owned by an independent group of 87 American family farmers dedicated to producing the highest quality health & wellness products in a way that is responsible … Read More

Interesting concept in N.Y. What do you think WDD readers? This editor doesn’t agree with all of their legislative agenda items, but thinks the prison-farm connection could be a positive change. Organizer Lauren Melodia has created a non-profit called “Milk Not Jails” that aims to pair prison reform and the local food movement into one positive force for rural N.Y. … Read More